Who was George Floyd? Why are the protests in US so much more intense?

George Floyd's death has sparked protests across the US, with demonstrators desperately calling for an end to police violence.

Mr Floyd was an unarmed black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes as he told them "I can't breathe".

He moved to Minneapolis after being released from prison and was known as a "gentle giant" who was trying to turn his life around.

The 46-year-old was born in North Carolina and lived in Houston, Texas, when he was younger but moved to Minneapolis several years ago to find work, according to his lifelong friend, Christopher Harris.

He was known to loved ones as "Big Floyd" and was the father to a six-year-old daughter who lives in Houston with her mother, Roxie Washington.

Ms Washington told the Houston Chronicle he was a good father while they were raising their daughter, Gianna, together.

He also left behind a girlfriend, Courteney Ross, who said she was "heartbroken" over his death.

"Waking up this morning to see Minneapolis on fire would be something that would devastate Floyd," she told the Star Tribune.

"He loved the city. He came here [from Houston] and stayed here for the people and the opportunities."

Mr Floyd was a talented athlete who particularly excelled in football and basketball at school.

One of Mr Floyd's former classmates, Donnell Cooper, said he had a "quiet personality but a gentle spirit".

According to Ms Washington, he did not finish school and began making music with a hip-hop group called the Screwed Up Click.

After he struggled to find work in Houston, he left the city for Minneapolis.

There, he worked two jobs, one driving trucks and another as a security guard at Latin American restaurant Conga Latin Bistro.

According to court documents, Mr Floyd was charged in 2007 with armed robbery in a "home invasion". He was sentenced to five years in prison after a plea deal in 2009.